c~ 
















,0 










. V C ' _ ' v-/. 



'';^-. ^-o>-' :^m: ^-^-.-f' =v^t. '^-o/ :0m 



> 



V 



't' 












Worcester, England 

and 

Worcester, Massachusetts 




CARLTON ENGRAVING CO. 



HOTO BY T. C. WOHLBRUCK 



ARMOR USED AT THE BATTLE OF WORCESTER, 1051 



Worcester, England 

and 

Worcester, Massachusetts 



by 



Samuel Swett Green, A. M. (Harvard) 
w 



With regards of the Mayor of Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts, and the Recep- 
tion Committee of Members of the City 
Council, and other Citizens. 



Please send acknowledgment to 

Mr, Samuel S. Green, 

Worcester, Massachusetts, U. S. A. 



Press of F. S. Blanchard & Co. 
1908 






h^ji^* 



FOREWORD. 

This pamphlet has been prepared at the request of 
the Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts, and the com- 
mittee of the City Government which made the arrange- 
ments for the reception of the recent gift of armor from 
Worcester, England. 

s. s. a. 



RECEPTION OF THE ARMOR. 

In a communication dated Elderslie, London Koad, 
Worcester, England, Oct. 12, 1908, Colonel Albert Webb, 
V.D., J.P., announced to the Mayor of Worcester, Mass., 
that he had been commissioned by the Mayor and cor- 
poration of the former place to bring to Worcester, 
Mass., two suits of armor which that body had voted to 
give to this city. 

Mr. Webb is a prominent citizen of Worcester, Eng- 
land. His father was Mayor of the city. He has him- 
self been for many years a member of the public board 
which has charge of the educational interests of his 
municipality, and is now chairman of the board. He 
has been a valued officer of the Volunteers, and in rec- 
ognition of his services in that organization received the 
decoration which bears the name of the late venerated 
Queen Victoria. 

On the 26th of October the Mayor of Worcester, 
Mass., sent a communication to the City Council sug- 
gesting the appointment of a committee from that body 
to make plans for the reception of Mr. Webb. The fol- 
lowing vote was passed: 

' In City Council, Oct. 26, 1908. 

Ordered: That a committee to consist of four mem- 
bers of the Common Council, with such as the Board of 
Aldermen may join, be appointed to arrange for the 
reception of Mr. Albert Webb of Worcester, England, 
and that said committee be given full power to act. 

Received October 28, 1908. 

Approved October 29, 1908, James Logan, Mayor. 

A copy. Attest : W. Henry Towne, City Clerk. 



6 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

President Louis H. Buckley of the Common Council 
appointed Councilmen Charles W. Stevens, Frederick 
Midgley, John A. Larkin and Frederick H. Lucke to rep- 
resent that board, and President George H. Coates of 
the Board of Aldermen appointed Aldermen Arthur B. 
Brunell (chairman), John P. Holmgren and Peter F. 
Sullivan to represent that board. 

The new committee began work at once, its first act 
being to add to its number two citizens not members of" 
the City Council, Mr. Nathaniel Paine and Mr. Samuel 
Swett Grreen, the latter librarian of the Free Public 
Library. 

Colonel Webb was the guest in this country of Mr. W. 
Edwin Thorpe, a prominent man of business in New 
York, of English descent, and for a long time an inti- 
mate friend of the guest and his family. Mr. Thorpe 
accompanied Colonel Webb to Worcester. 

A sub-committee, consisting of Messrs. Brunell and 
Paine and His Honor the Mayor, was appointed to meet 
Colonel Webb and Mr. Thorpe at the railroad station 
and conduct them to the Worcester Club, where they 
were to stay while in the city as the guests of Mr. Na- 
thaniel Paine, an old acquaintance of Mr. Thorpe. The 
chairman of the committee, with Aldermen Holmgren 
and Sullivan, were made a sub-committee to consult 
with the Mayor and arrange the programme of enter- 
tainment and details for the formal reception of the 
armor and its bearer. It was voted to extend invita- 
tions to be present at the reception to members of the 
national, state and city governments resident in Wor- 
cester. 

The guests arrived in the afternoon of Thursday, 
Nov. 5, and were entertained at dinner by Mr. Nathaniel 
Paine. At 9.30 o'clock Friday forenoon they were met 
by the members of the committee of the City Government 
at the Worcester Club and escorted to the Mayor's par- 
lor in the City Hall, where the suits of armor had been 




COL. ALBERT WEBB, V. D...I. P.. 
Worcester. En<;i.am>. 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 7 

suitably displayed. At ten o'clock Alderman Brunell 
formally introduced Colonel Webb to the Mayor and a 
large body of officials who had come together to greet 
him and join in the ceremony of reception. 

The messenger from Worcester, Eng., before pre- 
senting the armor, delivered his credentials to His 
Honor Mayor Logan. These were contained in a letter 
signed by John Stallard, mayor of Worcester, Eng., and 
Samuel So^ithall, town clerk, and impressed by the seal 
of the city. It read as follows : 

Mayor of Worcester, Guildhall, Worcester, 
The Mayor, Aldermen and citizens of the city of Wor- 
cester and county of the same city in England send a 
hearty greeting to the Mayor and corporation of the 
city of Worcester in Massachusetts, and beg their 
acceptance, as a token of friendly remembrance, of the 
accompanying two suits of armor, forming part of nine 
suits, which, with a brass cannon, were presented to our 
city by a former member of the corporation as having 
been used by the soldiers of King Charles the Second at 
the battle of Worcester, September 3d, 1651, and we 
have intrusted Col. Albert Webb, V.D., J.P., a member 
of our corporation to make the presentation of the said 
suits of armor with a hearty assurance of our good will 
toward the city of Worcester in America. Given under 
our common seal this 16th day of October, 1908. 

(Signed) John Stallard, Mayor. 

Samuel Southall, Town Clerk. 

Colonel Webb then made the following remarks : 
''Mr. Mayor: It is with great pleasure, I assure you, 
that I now turn over to your city this genuine testi- 
monial of the thorough and sincere good will which is 
borne by the city of Worcester, Eng., to the city of Wor- 
cester, Mass. It is a kindly remembrance of the friendly 
feeling that exists in our city towards this municipality, 
and it was with great pleasure that I suggested the mak- 
ing of this gift to our Mayor. He, in turn, made the 



8 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

necessary motion in the city government, which motion 
was seconded by the high sheriff, and the vote was 
passed with much enthusiasm and many evidences of 
good feeling, thus making the gift possible, and placing 
upon me the very acceptable duty of bearing it hither 
and making the presentation. It was with notable 
evidences of good will and friendship that this gift was 
authorized by our city, and I should like to point out the 
fact that this is not a mere local testimonial, but a token 
of the good-will and high esteem that exist all over our 
country toward this great and powerful nation. 

"We hope that, as a stone thrown into a pool sends its 
ever-widening ripples toward the banks, be they ever so 
far distant, this incident will create an always-broaden- 
ing movement of cordial good feeling in America 
toward the mother country that will be felt even to the 
farthest confines of this continent. We wish it to be a 
token and a proof that only the best of good feeling pre- 
vails in England toward America, and we hope that the 
good-will which now exists, and is so essential to the 
peace of the whole world, will be welded into an 
unbreakable tie between us, 

''I can assure you that the people of England witnessed 
with hearty accord and acclaim the result of your great 
national election this week. They were deeply gratified, 
I am sure, with the victory of Mr. Taft, not from any 
knowledge of the partisan feelings which must exist in 
a community of this size on such an occasion, but from 
the deep and sincere conviction that the result of the 
contest will redound to the prosperity of your country. 
It is the earnest wish of Great Britain that in all the 
great political contests of America your presidents and 
leading men may always be chosen, as they have been in 
the past, from the great and able men of your nation. 

'*It is the wish of my city and of the whole of Great 
Britain that our two nations may go on hand in hand 
doing a great work for the welfare of the whole world. 




HON. JAMES LOGAN. 
Mayor of Worcester. Massachusetts. 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachiisetts. 9 

These two nations can never be in reality separated. 
Their interests are too closely interwoven for that. May 
they always move in equal pace and accord toward that 
high bright hill of progress and world-welfare toward 
which our faces are prayerfully turned. I hope that 
you may always see in the significance of this gift the 
guarantee that the two great English-speaking nations 
of the earth are indissolubly bound together by ties of 
blood and friendship that nothing can sever. Again I 
ask you to accept these gifts as tokens of our heartfelt 
good-will." 

Mayor Logan responded as follows : 

''From 1651-1908 is two hundred and fifty-seven 
years, and two hundred and fifty-seven years is a long 
time as men count time, even in the life of a nation. 
Many of the men and women who landed at Plymouth 
Rock were still living. The seed from which was to 
grow the mightiest republic on earth had but just been 
planted in the new world. 

"In the providence of God this virgin soil had been 
kept until the time was ripe for planting the tree of lib- 
erty. That tree has been nourished by the blood of the 
men who fought on both sides at Worcester so many 
years ago. It would not be right, it would not be true 
to claim that the mother country or our own country has 
always been right, or that the acts of all their prominent 
statesmen have always been patriotic and unselfish, but 
were we to cut from the tree of liberty those branches 
that have been grafted into it by the English people and 
their descendants — grafts that have been bought with 
the blood of their noblest sons, the tree of liberty, which 
is spreading its beneficent shade over all the earth, 
would shrink to an insignificant shrub. 

"We need to remember that much of the injustice and 
inequality of the past is history and no longer exists, 
and it can truthfully be said that with all the shortcom- 
ings of both our native and adopted land, wherever the 



10 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

blended crosses of St. George, St. Andrew and St. Pat- 
rick, and the stars and stripes float, in the main life and 
property are safe, and the administration of govern- 
ment is both beneficent and righteous. 

''During all these two hundred and fifty-seven years, 
by a devious path God has led the mother nation, from 
which so many of us sprang, often down through the 
dark valley of defeat out on the other side into the open 
beyond, where, with a vision clarified by sacrifice and 
suffering, they have been enabled to behold the larger 
truth and obtain a larger freedom; and thus in His own 
way and in His own good time there has been wrought 
out for them and us a larger victory. 

''As a son of Scotland, when by my own act, as a 
young man, I became an adopted son of this the grand- 
est r,epublic on which the sun shines, in taking the oath 
of allegiance to my adopted country I had to forswear 
allegiance to the land of my birth, and the sovereignty 
of Victoria, her gracious ruler, but in so doing I did not 
forswear my allegiance to Victoria, the noble wife, 
mother and Christian queen of my native country. I 
could not have done that, for my father had taught me 
to love her, 'Victoria the Good,' the nineteenth century's 
noble example as she is the twentieth century's noble 
ideal of domestic virtue and stainless life. 

"She was strong in her virtue, with a splendid devo- 
tion to duty. She was beautiful in her womanliness 
and stalwart in her faith in God. She has passed from 
right, but not from our minds and hearts, but her work 
remains and the sweet incense of her noble life is like 
the fragrance from the alabaster box of precious oint- 
ment which fills the earth. To have lived long is well, 
to have lived well is better, but to have lived through a 
long and eventful life of service, under the fierce light 
which beats upon a throne, and to have so lived as to 
make that fierce light dim, by a purer, sweeter, diviner 
light that streamed forth from her private life and noble 



Worcester, England, mid Worcester, Massachusetts. 11 

Christian character, so that she went to her grave loved 
and mourned by millions, is the richest compensation 
which earth affords. 

' ' And why, do you ask, do I refer at such length to Vic- 
toria, the gracious queen I Because the men who fought at 
Worcester two hundred and fifty-seven years ago made 
possible her reign, with all its beneficent results. These 
men fought for us as well and made possible the day 
where, in a land far beyond the sea, a modern miracle 
was to be wrought when upwards of fifteen millions of 
freemen gathered from the four quarters of the globe, 
citizens by birth and citizens by adoption, should make 
choice of the man who was to be elevated to the highest 
position to which any man can attain, the presidency of 
the United States. Our chief magistrate rules not by 
divine right, not by the conquest of arms, but by the choice 
of his fellow citizens, and the battle of Worcester, so 
many years ago, was a contributing factor, as above 
stated, in making possible the scene enacted throughout 
the length and breadth of this land on Nov. 3d. 

"So, my dear sir, in behalf of this municipality, I 
accept at your hands from our sister city beyond the 
sea, these ancient relics of the days of strife, when 
valiant blows were struck for liberty. You will please 
convey to the honored Mayor of your city and the mem- 
bers of your municipal corporation our deep apprecia- 
tion of the thoughtfulness which prompts this kindly act 
of courtesy. . 

"We will give these relics an honored place in our city 
as a memorial of the men who fought for both you and 
us in Worcester, Eng., so many years ago." 

After the ceremonies attending the reception of the 
armor were finished. Colonel Webb and his friend, Mr. 
Thorpe, were introduced to many of the gentlemen who 
were present, and, after having been shown about the 
City Hall, were taken by the committee in automobiles 
to several points of interest in the city. Among the 



12 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

places visited were the carpet works of Mr. Matthew 
John Whittall, which Colonel Webb was especially 
desirous of examining. At one o'clock the party reached 
the house of Mayor Logan, where, having been joined by 
Hon. Charles Grenfill Washburn, member of Congress 
from the Worcester district, it was lentertained at lunch- 
eon. Later the committee and its guests went in auto- 
mobiles to the Logan, Swift & Brigham division of the 
United States Envelope Company's works, on Grove 
Street, and afterwards visited the Worcester Art Mu- 
seum and the buildings of the Free Public Library. 

The incidents of the day followed one another prompt- 
ly and pleasantly. That they did so was owing to the 
admirable manner in which arrangements had been 
made by City Messenger, William H. Pratt. 

The festivities closed with a delightful dinner given 
to the guests, the members of the committee, and a few 
others by Mr. Whittall at his beautiful residence in 
South Worcester. After dinner, at the request of the 
host, Mr. Green opened a conversation, to which Colonel 
Webb and others contributed, by remarks concerning 
Worcester, England, in which he especially pointed out 
resemblances in the activities of the two Worcesters, 
and described a few incidents in the battle of Worcester. 

During the forenoon of the following day Colonel 
Webb visited the State Normal School and other 
places, including All Saints' Church, where he examined 
the fragments of the cathedral of Worcester, England, 
which form an attractive decoration of a wall of the 
porch. 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 13 

Origin of the Name of Worcester, Massachusetts, and 
AN Account of Interchanges of Sentiments, Cour- 
tesies AND Gifts Between the Cities of "Worces- 
ter, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

The writer of this paper has had so intimate a connec- 
tion with late interchanges between Worcester, Eng- 
land, and Worcester, Massachusetts, that it seems 
proper that he should describe these before details are 
forgotten. His investigations enable him to give par- 
ticulars also regarding earlier exchanges. 

There is not likely to occur a more fitting occasion to 
perform the service which he thinks he ought to under- 
take than that which we are now celebrating in acknowl- 
edgment of the reception of two valuable suits of armor 
from the older Worcester, on the Severn. The gift is a 
very generous and important one, and awakens in resi- 
dents here feelings of profound gratitude, and reminds 
us pleasantly of the agreeable relations which have sub- 
sisted between the two cities. 

The General Court, at a session begun Oct. 15th, 1684, 
granted the request of the committee, Daniel Gookin, 
Daniel Henchman and Thomas Prentice, that their plan- 
tation at Quinsigamond be called Worcester. In a paper 
by Mr. William H. Whitmore, read before the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society in February, 1873, "On the 
Origin of the Names of Towns in Massachusetts," the 
following statements may be found: "Worcester. A 
county in England. The battle of Worcester was Crom- 
well's 'crowning mercy,' and tradition states that the 
name was chosen here as a defiance to the king." The 
tradition is probable, as shown by the late George F. 
Hoar, United States Senator from Massachusetts, in his 
"Address on the two hundredth anniversary of Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts," delivered Oct. 14, 1884. "There 
is no reason," he wrote, "to think that either of the 
staunch old Puritans who composed the committee had 



14 Worcester, Englayid, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

the slightest connection with the city or shire of Wor- 
cester. Prentice is believed by his descendants to have 
learned the art of war under Cromwell. Gookin was its 
most important member. He may be called the founder 
of Worcester. He was the companion and protector of 
the regicides, Groffe and Whalley, on the one hand, and 
an earnest advocate for justice to the Indians on the 
other. Goffe and Whalley came over in the same ship 
with him in 1660. While the foundation of Worcester 
was in progress, they were dwelling in Hadley, in a hid- 
ing-place of which he knew the secret. Whalley was 
own cousin of both Cromwell and Hampden. He had 
beaten Prince Rupert at Naseby, and led the horse in 
the army which compelled him to the surrender of Bris- 
tol. The loyalists of the English Worcester surren- 
dered that city to him in 1643." It was on the 10th of 
September, in the year in which Worcester was named, 
that news reached Boston that judgment had been given- 
in the English Chancery vacating the charter of the 
colony of Massachusetts. ''This," adds Mr. Hoar, 
''was the darkest day in the annals of the Common- 
wealth." Under these circumstances it seems highly 
probable that the name of this place commemorates the 
battle of Worcester rather than the city which was faith- 
ful to the Stuart kings. 

This being the case, it is particularly gratifying to the 
citizens of Worcester, Massachusetts, to receive from 
Worcester, England, such splendid relics of the great 
battle of Worcester as the two suits of armor which 
have been preserved as reminders of the contest. 

The first correspondence between the two Worcesters 
of which I find a record related to the famous Oregon 
controversy in the forties of the last century. The two 
great issues in the presidential contest of 1844 were the 
question of the annexation of Texas and the demands 
which should be made by the United States upon Great 
Britain for territory in Oregon. The cry of the Demo- 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 15 

cratic party was "Fifty-four forty, or fight!" In the 
early part of the year 1846 there was very great danger 
that Great Britain and the United States would go to 
war on the .question of the Oregon boundary, and at that 
time international friendly letters were sent from differ- 
ent towns in England to different towns in the United 
States urging us to work in behalf of peace between the 
two countries. Those letters were sent to Elihu Bur- 
ritt, and he saw that they were forwarded to the places 
to which they were addressed, and some of them he car- 
ried himself. Eeplies were made to the British letters. 

Mr. Burritt carried some of these across the Atlantic 
himself; among others the reply from Worcester, Mas- 
sachusetts, to Worcester, England. He went to Eng- 
land in May, 1846, in the same steamer that carried the 
news of the settlement of the Oregon question. The dom- 
inant party had concluded that the country's interests 
in Texas would suffer if it persisted in demanding the 
boundary which it had contended for between Oregon 
and British territory, and Mr. Buchanan, then Secretary- 
of -State, had joined in a treaty that the line should be 
forty-nine degrees north latitude, a conclusion which 
was satisfactory to both parties in interest. Some of 
the addresses which Mr. Burritt carried abroad were 
presented at public meetings in the towns to which the 
communications were addressed, among others the 
address between the two Worcesters. 

The above statement is taken in substance from 
remarks which the writer made at a meeting of the 
American Antiquarian Society held in Worcester, Mass., 
Oct. 21, 1904, in connection with the presentation of a 
copy of a letter written to him by Elihu Burritt April 
16, 1874. The original letter is in the possession of the 
Free Public Library, and is as follows : 

New Britain, Ct., April 16, 74. 
Samuel S. Green, Esq. 

My dear Sir: I am very happy to hear that the dear 



16 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Worcester of ray love and pride, where my public life 
was born, is going to revive the pleasant communion 
and fellowship with the old Worcester of Mother Eng- 
land with which I was somewhat connected nearly thirty 
years ago. During the Oregon controversy in 1846, 
when it was assuming a serious aspect, Joseph Cross- 
field, a Quaker of Manchester, originated a kind of 
direct interchange of sentiments on the subject between 
English and American towns through friendly inter- 
national addresses. A great number of these addresses 
were sent from various towns in England and Scotland 
to our principal cities. These were all sent to me, or 
my care, and I had them printed on slips, and posted to 
several hundred newspapers scattered over the Union. 
One of these was from Edinburgh to Washington, bear- 
ing the names of Dr. Chalmers and the first men of that 
city. I took this on to Washington myself, and among 
others showed it to John C. Calhoun, who was deeply 
interested in it. At the same time I took with me an 
address signed by 1600 ladies of the city of Exeter, Eng- 
land, to the ladies of Philadelphia, who sent a response 
to it, signed, I believe, by over 3000 of their number. 
When I went to England in 1846 I took with me this 
response, and also that of our Worcester to the mother 
Worcester in England. Both were presented at public 
meetings convened for the purpose, and excited the live- 
liest interest. I have copied out of the Christian Citi- 
zen, volume for 1846, both communications of the two 
Worcesters, which will show you the spirit which they 
breathed and inspired. I do not know what has become 
of the original address from old Worcester. It ought 
to have been preserved in the archives of the city. I do 
not know if you have a copy of my last book, ''Ten- 
minute Talks on all Sorts of Topics," in your library. 
I have described this friendly international address 
movement in my autobiography. 

Hoping these facts will suffice for your object, 

I am yours truly, 
(Signed) Elihu Burritt. 

The communication which was received from citizens 
of Worcester, Eng., was as follows : 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 17 

The Inliabitants of Worcester, Eng., to their Brethren 
of Worcester, Mass., U. S. A. 
Friends and Brethren: It is with pain and deep sor- 
row that we have viewed the probability that the peace 
between your government and ours may be broken. 
War under any circumstances is a dreadful calamity. 
Still more especially would it be between two countries 
so intimately connected as are England and America. 
It would bring disgrace on our profession of Christian- 
ity, and must be attended with disastrous effects to both 
nations in respect to the disturbance of our growing 
commercial and political relations. We entreat you to 
remember that God hath made of one blood all nations 
of men to dwell on the face of the earth in peace and 
concord; and be it ever commemorated that the advent 
of our Saviour was ushered into the world with "Peace 
on earth and good- will towards men." May you and 
may we respond to this heavenly language in word and 
deed. Let our common Christianity and our consanguin- 
ity unite us in a firm bond which no adverse circum- 
stances or comparatively petty interests may be ever 
suffered to sever. With a firm belief in the pacific dis- 
positions of both nations, and that their respective gov- 
ernments will yet be enabled to settle the controversy in 
a manner at once just and honorable to all parties con- 
cerned, we look forward with hope to the future, and now 
subscribe ourselves 

Your Friends & Wellwishers 

Signed by William Lewis, Mayor, 

and 630 others of the Inhabitants of 

Worcester, Old England. 

The reply of citizens of Worcester, Mass., was as fol- 
lows to the citizens of Worcester, Eng., read and 
presented to them at a public meeting" in that city, July, 
1846, by Elihu Burritt: 

Brethren: We, citizens of Worcester, in New Eng- 
land, received with great pleasure the expression of 
your hope for peace between our country and yours. We 
reciprocate that hope most cordially. We cannot forget 
that God has made us and you of one blood, that we are 



18 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

followers together of the same Eedeemer. Your letter 
to us recalls gratefully the thought of our close national 
sympathies. The name of our home has reminded you 
that though personally strangers to each other, we all 
own a common origin. And while you address us in a 
language which is our language, the hopes and prayers 
you express are ours also. We know that the unity of 
spirit which thus connects us is the true bond of peace. 
And thus the assurances of sympathy which you send us 
give us new confidence that the bond of our brotherhood 
will not be rudely severed. We know so much of the 
horrors of war; we deplore the calamities inseparable 
from it so sincerely; we have enjoyed so long the bless- 
ings of profound peace, and we trust so earnestly in the 
spread of Christ's kingdom which must end war, that 
we join fervently in the Christian's prayer to God that 
the peace between us may be interrupted no more. Our 
earnest wishes for it are not ours only, but are shared 
with us by our countrjmien. We learn with joy from 
you that there is a like pacific disposition among yours. 
We cannot doubt that your government will second and 
carry forth the promptings of that noble sentiment. On 
our part, we rely fully on the system of our republic, 
which is based on a desire for peace, and aims only to 
reflect the best wishes and attain the best objects of our 
people. And thus we believe that the two administra- 
tions will be able to adjust all differences, and establish 
on an honorable and secure basis the friendly relations 
between the two countries; that in kind feeling, in last- 
ing peace, and in all Christian etfort, the two may be 
one. 

Signed by 816 citizens of Worcester, Massachusetts, 
U. S. A., June 4, 1846. 

A copy of the last two letters in Mr. Burritt's hand- 
writing is to be found in the Free Public Library. They 
were printed in the Christian Citizen of June 20, 1846. 
That is a paper which was established in Worcester by 
Elihu Burritt. At the time of the publication of the 
above letters it was issued by Elihu Burritt & Co. The 
editorial containing the letters was signed by ''T. D." 
These letters undoubtedly represent the name of 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 19 

Thomas Drew, who was for a long time the able assist- 
ant of Mr. Burritt in publishing and editing the Chris- 
tian Citizen. Eeference may also be made, if desired, 
to the communication made by the writer to the Ameri- 
can Antiquarian Society, the date of which is given 
above. Mr. Burritt also gives an account of the initia- 
tion of the correspondence in England in his ''Auto- 
biography" in "Ten-minute Talks on All Sorts of Top- 
ics" (page 19), published by him in 1874. 

In addition to the two letters given above the original 
copy of a third is contained in the Free Public Library. 
This letter was written by friends in Worcester, Eng., 
during the Mexican War, which followed the annexation 
of Texas to the United States. It is as follows : 

To the Superintendents, Teachers and Friends of Sab- 
bath Schools and Religious Education in Worces- 
ter, Mass., America. 

Respected Friends : We beg to acknowledge the receipt 
of the address which you have so kindly forwarded to 
us, and to thank you most sincerely for those expres- 
sions of fraternal love and good-will which it contains. 
We are gratified to fiind that our fellow Christians in 
America are throwing the silken cord of Christian love 
across the great waters, and we doubt not, if Christians 
are true to their principles, that they will be able to 
lengthen and strengthen this bond of fellowship until it 
shall become long enough and strong enough to reach 
round the globe and bind the hearts of its inhabitants in 
one compact mass of love. This we believe to be your 
design; this shall be ours; and as union is strength let 
us embrace every opportunity of cementing ourselves 
together so that we may the more effectually attack the 
enemies of our common cause. 

The subject to which you wish to direct our attention 
we feel to be an important one, and believe it contains 
principles which must eventually be acted upon by the 
rulers of all nations. But we feel assured that the time 
will come when the strong nations afar off shall be 
rebuked, and when they shall beat their swords into 
ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks, 



20 Woixester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
yet obstacles great and numerous stand in the way 
which will require the diligence, perseverance and self- 
denial of Christians, and especially of Christian teach- 
ers, to remove. What but the spread of correct Chris- 
tian principles can eradicate from the human mind those 
feelings of hatred, jealousy and revenge which lead to 
wars ? 

Our position as instructors of those whose minds are 
not yet strongly prejudiced in favor of this evil is pecu- 
liarly advantageous, and if we are determined to instill 
into their hearts a detestation of war, and perseveringly 
inculcate the spirit of peace and love, we doubt not that 
God's blessing will rest upon our labors, and make them 
successful to the pulling down of the strongholds of the 
enemies of peace. 

This spirit we believe to be in perfect accordance with 
the gospel of peace ; for this we continually pray ; for this 
spirit we are looking, and are anticipating the time when 
it shall pervade the whole earth. What shall we do for 
its diffusion? How can we successfully oppose it to the 
potent antagonistic principle! Only, we think, by the 
gradual, slow but sure method of diffusing information. 

God only knows how short or how long the period 
which is to elapse before this desirable reign of peace 
shall be realized, but it is sufficient for us to know that the 
time' will come when the Prince of Peace shall reign uni- 
versally, for the government is upon His shoulder, and of 
the increase of His government and peace there shall be 
no end. We know, too, that the work of righteousness 
shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness 
and assurance forever. Having these and very many 
other predictions of God's word to support and encour- 
age us in this good work, how can we despair of success? 
We cannot; but as our eye runs over and as our heart 
ponders the beautifully sublime, prophetic portions of 
Scripture on this subject, we are greatly encouraged, our 
hopes are enlarged, our zeal is stimulated, our faith is 
strengthened, and we are ready to wonder how it is that 
Christians cannot agree on this subject. 

It is with heartfelt sorrow that we witness the opera- 
tion of the war spirit in your country at the present time. 
Its attendant evils will not be few; its influences are of 
the most demoralizing character. We pray that your 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 21 

country may be preserved from them. Your exertions 
will be required to nullify the pernicious influences which 
will be brought by your northern men, by whom we 
understand the war has been carried on principally. Men 
returning from the seat of war to recount their deeds 
of blood will excite the worst feelings of our fallen 
nature, and thus create a desire in others to participate 
in the glory of conquest. Those who have been engaged 
in this war will probably be unwilling and unfitted to 
settle down in their peaceful homes again; so different 
are the quietness of home and the bustle and turmoil of 
the field of battle that home becomes too tame and monoto- 
nous for the warrior, therefore he is ready to go forth 
again to devastate and destroy. But we trust you will 
be ready to apply the antidote to this poison; that you 
will exert all your influence to oppose its spread, and 
stem the torrent of vice and wickedness which naturally 
result in such cases. 

With assurances of our concurrence in your desires, 
and of our assistance in the diffusion of the peace princi- 
ples, we conclude for the present, hoping at some future 
time to address you again, and earnestly desiring that 
the peace of Grod may dwell in your hearts richly, and 
bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, which 
are sown in peace a/c them that make peace. 
We remain, 

Yours in Christian brotherhood, 
(Signed by 368 names.) 

Worcester, Eng., Aug. 12th, 1847. 

In the Free Public Library there is the original of a 
communication from the Mayor and other residents of 
Worcester, Eng., to citizens of Worcester, Mass., in 
praise of temperance and expressive of appreciation of 
our townsman, the late John B. Gough, the distinguished 
temperance orator, and Mr. F. W. Kellogg. It is as fol- 
lows: 

To the Members and Friends of the Temperance Cause 
and Citizens Generally of Worcester, Mass. 
Respected fellow laborers in the great cause of social 
and moral progress : It is with feelings of sincere pleas- 



22 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

ure and hearty sjTnpatliy that we, the members and 
friends of the Hope Temperance Society, and other citi- 
zens of this ancient city of Worcester, Eng., stretch forth 
the hand of friendship to you, inhabitants of the younger 
Worcester. 

We are pleased to call to your recollection former 
times, when words of friendly greeting and fraterniza- 
tion have passed between the two cities, and rejoice that 
on the first occasion, when we were visited by your 
renowned fellow townsman, Elihu Burritt, and on the 
second occasion, when we were assisted by the labors of 
your talented temperance advocate, F. W. Kellogg, such 
sentiments were interchanged as will not readily be for- 
gotten by us, knowing as we do that you have amongst 
3'ou many champions for the truth, and devoted laborers 
in every field of social usefulness, we are proud of this 
third opportunity of expressing our warmest sympathies 
with you whom we may now call our old friends and fel- 
low laborers in the cause of progress. John B. Gough, 
by whose hands we send this, was welcomed to this 
ancient Worcester very early on his first visit to this 
country,^ and not the less so because he came from your 
city, which has the honor of being his moral birthplace, 
to plead with us in an eloquence so startling, the great 
cause of temperance. He has made frequent visits to 
this city, and has always met with the most enthusiastic 
reception, and now leaves behind him a large circle of 
friends, won no less by the Christian virtues of his char- 
acter than by his marvelous talents. In all parts of the 
country his career has been one of the greatest useful- 
ness. He has demonstrated the truths he advocates in 
circles which had never been approached before, and has 
established for the temperance movement a broader 
basis than it has ever previously possessed. Like every 
great and good man, however, he has not been free from 
persecution. Calumny has assailed him. Foul slander 
has tried to blast his character, but we cannot allow this 
occasion to pass without saying that after the most com- 
plete and painful investigation into the whole matter 
from beginning to end, we send him back to you entirely 
innocent of the vile charges imputed to him, whilst to us 
his character has shone brightest when viewed in con- 

> 1853. 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 23 

trast with that of his slanderers. He has, indeed, come 
forth from the fire of persecution and calumny as gold 
thoroughly purified. 

He now returns to his adopted country, and bears with 
him the good wishes of his numerous friends, with their 
sincere prayer that all his endeavors to ameliorate the 
condition of his fellowmen may be eminently successful, 
and in the exercise of an unswerving faith in the direct- 
ing hand of Providence, we know that "he will defend 
the right." 

We yet hope that ere long our friend will see his way 
to return to this country, and whenever that may be he 
will be welcomed not only by all who are old laborers in 
the cause of truth, but also by thousands who have been 
saved already through his instrumentality from a drunk- 
ard's grave. And now, respected friends, allow us to 
congratulate you upon the progress our glorious cause 
has made in your great republic, and to add an earnest 
prayer that in our own island home, as well as on your 
vast continent, the laborers for the removal of intemper- 
ance and of every vice that afflicts humanity may ever 
feel a consciousness of the support and presence of Him 
who has said, "I will never leave you," and though the 
clods of the valley may be gathered over our heads ere 
the monstrous evils we seek to abolish are no more, we 
may still be enabled to appreciate the high honor of 
being permitted to labor as pioneers in this holy crusade, 
ever trusting in the ultimate triumph of truth and right- 
eousness. 

Signed by Wm. Haigh, Mayor of Worcester, and others. 

Recent interchanges of civilities began in Worcester, 
Mass., in the spring of 1874. It having been learned by 
the librarian of the Free Public Library that the late 
Hon. John Davis Washburn was about to visit England, 
he proposed to the Board of Directors that he be empow- 
ered to get together a few volumes relating to our city to 
be transmitted to the City Council of Worcester, Eng. 
The board sanctioned the proceedings, and a few books, 
such as a set of the annual reports of the departments of 
the city, a city directory, and Lincoln's History of Wor- 



24 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

cester, were collected, properly bound, and given into the 
hands of Mr. Washburn to present, in the name of the 
library, to the city of Worcester, Eng. Accompanying 
the gift was the following letter, which was written by 
Rev. William R. Huntington, at that time rector of All 
Saints' Church, Worcester, Mass., but at present the dis- 
tinguished head of G-race Church, New York city : 

To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councilors of the City of 
Worcester, Eng., the Directors of the Free Public 
Library of Worcester, in New England, send greet- 
ing: 

On three several occasions during the past fifty years, 
once in 1846, and twice since, expressions of kindly feel- 
ing have been interchanged between your citizens and 
our own. 

In each of these instances the first word has come from 
you, and the response from us. Encouraged by the mem- 
ory of these friendly advances, we have thought the pres- 
ent not an unfavorable moment for renewing, by a vol- 
untary act of our own, an acquaintance which we value 
and should be sorry to see forgotten. 

We feel sure that you cannot be wholly uninterested in 
the fortune of your oldest, if not your only namesake 
on this side of the ocean, and that you will rejoice to 
know how God has blessed her with an abounding pros- 
perity. 

We, therefore, take advantage of an opportunity given 
us by the proposed visit of our fellow townsman, Mr. 
John Davis Washburn, to your country, to send you cer- 
tain books and documents relating to our local history 
and affairs which we judge may possess an interest for 
you. 

We beg you to receive Mr. Washburn as our accredited 
representative, and we leave with him the duty of 
expressing, by word of mouth, more fully than in this 
brief address it is possible to do, those sentiments of 
respect and affection which we desire to have accom- 
pany our gift. 

The circumstances of our respective communities are 
in certain important points not unlike. 

The books and papers now transmitted will show you 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 25 

at a glance how much the two Worcesters, yours and 
ours, have in common. Both cities are centers of a busy 
agricultural life, both possess manufacturing and com- 
mercial industries in sinuglar variety, and both have it 
for their boast that notwithstanding the pressure of 
these material interests, they have not suffered them- 
selves to forget the claims of sound learning and true 
religion. 

May your ancient city prosper and increase. For our 
own we ask no better fortune than that she may 
deserve the title yours has borne so long without dispute, 
"Civitas in hello et in pace fidelis." 
Worcester, Mass., U. S. A., April 28, 1874. 

(Signed) Thomas Leverett Nelson, President. 

Caleb B. Metcalf, Henry A. Marsh, 

Nathaniel Paine, William R. Huntington, 

Charles 0. Thompson, Charles H. Morgan, 

Thomas E. St. John, Charles H. Doe, 

John J. Power, George E. Francis, 



Edward Earle, 



Samuel S. Green, Librarian. 



Mr. Washburn discharged his duty most satisfactorily, 
and the following friendly letter of acknowledgment was 
received from Worcester, Eng. : 

To the Directors of the Free Public Library of Worces- 
ter, in New England, we, the Mayor, Aldermen and 
citizens of the city of Worcester, in England, in 
Common Council assembled, send greeting: 

We have received with feelings of the liveliest pleas- 
ure and gratification your graceful expression of the 
good-will you entertain towards us, and of the kindly in- 
terest you take in the welfare of our ancient city. 

We cordially reciprocate your kindly feelings, and 
rejoice in the knowledge that though divided from you by 
the vast expanse of the Atlantic, we are drawn near 
together by community of origin, of name, of interests, 
and of all that makes a people great, prosperous and 
happy. 

We rejoice at the tidings of your prosperity, and sin- 
cerely hope that this prosperity will continue to increase 
more and more. 



26 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

The books and papers you have sent us reflect the 
greatest credit on your city and its inhabitants. We 
accept with gratitude your valuable presents, and assure 
you that the volumes you have sent will form an accept- 
able addition to our civic library, and the information 
they afford as to the conduct of your municipal affairs 
will prove a source of interest to us. 

We confidently trust that the interchange of friendly 
greetings you have now renewed in so well-timed and 
graceful a manner may result in a continuing bond of 
amity between 3"our city and our own, and awaken and 
keep alive a mutual interest in each other's welfare. 

Given under the common seal of the Mayor, Alder- 
men and citizens of the city of AVorcester, this 12th day 
of October, 1874. 

(Signed) H. Gr. Gouldingham, Mayor (L. S.) 

Accompanying the letter was a copy of Dr. Nash's val- 
uable and expensive work entitled, "Collections for the 
History of Worcestershire," in two volumes folio, and 
the * ' History and Antiquities of the City and Suburbs of 
Worcester," in two volumes quarto, by Valentine Green. 
Mr. Washburn himself brought us on his return a copy 
of Thomas's "Survey of the Cathedral Church of Wor- 
cester. ' ' 

Our messenger, besides conveying our letter to the 
civil authorities of Worcester, Eng., made the acquaint- 
ance of ecclesiastics connected with the cathedral, and 
secured a few fragments of that building which had been 
dispensed with during its restoration. These have since 
been built into one of the walls of the vestibule of All 
Saints' Church, Worcester, Mass., on which there is also 
a brass plate showing where the stones formerly 
belonged. 

In addition to the official acknowledgment of our greet- 
ing, and the present of books, by the Mayor of Worces- 
ter, Eng., the following letter, of which the original is in 
the Free Public Library, was sent by the town clerk of 
the latter city to Mr. Washburn : 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 27 

Gruildhall, Worcester, 14 December, 1874. 
John Davis Washburn, Esq., Worcester, Massachusetts, 
U. S. America. 

Dear Sir : The address from the Mayor, Aldermen and 
citizens of this city to the directors of the Free 
Library at Worcester, New England, which was handed 
to you by the late Mayor of this city, had to be laid before 
the Council with a view to its being entered on the min- 
utes of their meeting, and I have the pleasure of inform- 
ing you that the reading of it was received by our Coun- 
cil with many expressions of approval, and of satisfac- 
tion at the good feeling existing between the two cities. 

I was not aware, until a very short space of time 
before you left Worcester, that I should not have the 
opportunity of speaking to you respecting the 
books which Mr. A. C. Sherriff had provided for presen- 
tation to your library. If the opportunity had been 
afforded me, I should have liked to ascertain your wishes 
as to having in them some inscription by Mr. Sherriff of 
the presentation of these books ; and I shall be obliged by 
your now informing me whether you would prefer to 
have such an inscription in the handwriting of Mr. Sher- 
riff, or in gilt letters on a leather label, to place on the 
inside of the cover of the books. 

On your informing me your wishes in this respect, I 
shall be happy to get what is requisite done, and to send 
same to you. 

I am, dear sir, 

Yours truly, 
(Signed) Thos. Southall, 

Town Clerk. 

It appears from this letter that the books which accom- 
panied that of the Mayor were the gift of Mr. Alexander 
Clunes Sherriff, a member of Parliament from the city 
of Worcester, Eng. 

The formal opening to the public of the Worcester 
(Eng.) Public Library and Hastings Museum, which had 
just been founded, was celebrated on the 16th of March, 
1881. Our ambassador at the Court of St. James, James 
Russell Lowell, performed the opening ceremony. Believ- 
ing that the occasion should be recognized here, the libra- 



28 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

rian of the Free Public Library had a special meeting of 
the Board of Directors called, and proposed to it to send 
a cable dispatch to the Mayor of Worcester, Eng. He 
was authorized to send the following message : 

Mayor, Worcester. 

The Heart of the Commonwealth greets the ever- 
faithful city on opening Free Library. 

Directors Free Library. 

This dispatch was received when the procession had 
passed from the Guildhall to the library building, at the 
moment when Mr. Lowell was unlocking the door. 

In an account of the banquet in the Worcester (Eng.) 
Daily Times, March 17, 1881, a copy of which is pre- 
served in the Free Public Library, Mr. Lowell is repre- 
sented after a few other remarks as speaking as follows : 

'*! prefer much rather to refer to that connection 
between the city of Worcester in England and the city of 
Worcester in Massachusetts, which was brought so vivid- 
ly to me by the telegram received by the Mayor as we 
were on our way from the Guildhall to the library. The 
city of Worcester in Massachusetts is a city of about the 
same number of inhabitants, as well as I can remember, 
as the city of Worcester in England, and I do not think 
that the daughter has done any discredit to the mother. 
(Hear, hear.) The city of Worcester is the seat of the 
American Antiquarian Society, founded some eighty or 
more years ago, and one of the most respectable of our 
literary societies, which has now published a series of 
volumes of proceedings of great historical and scientific 
value. It also has one of the best city free libraries, and 
it is rather distinguished, I think, by having a particular- 
ly intelligent librarian, who has done a great deal 
towards reducing the cataloguing of books to a more 
scientific method. So that in regard to Worcester I think 
you may well be proud of having such a daughter, as I 
have no doubt she is, of her mother. (Applause.) Your 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 29 

Worcester dates from the Romans, as its name implies. 
It has a long past behind it. Our Worcester is now 140 
years old, I suppose — not older than that certainly — and 
has a great future, perhaps, before it. I really at my 
time of life am sometimes doubtful which is best (laugh- 
ter), to have a comfortable past behind you, all settled 
and arranged, or a future before you, with all its possi- 
bilities, it is true; perhaps with all its probabilities (hear, 
hear), but with some great contingencies also, which 
sometimes affect the imagination with considerable ap- 
prehension. (Laughter.) I won't detain you any 
longer, further than to thank you in the warmest man- 
ner for the kindness with which my name has been 
received, and which I should be a great deal more foolish 
than I consider myself to be (laughter), if I should apply 
personally to myself. I like it vastly better as an expres- 
sion of feeling towards the country which I represent. 
(Hear, hear.) I should be, indeed, unworthy to represent 
her if I could stand here and take to myself what was 
meant for her, and I certainly, in her name, can recipro- 
cate that friendly feeling which, I am glad to say, I meet 
with everywhere in England." (Loud applause.) 

A great public meeting was held at the skating rink in 
Worcester, Eng., in the evening. In speaking of the 
occurrences of the opening day, the first report of the 
Worcester Library and Hastings Museum states that: 
''Not the least gratifying incident in this day's proceed- 
ings was the receipt by the Mayor (Alderman Towns- 
hend) of a telegram from the public authorities of Wor- 
cester, Mass., congratulating the faithful city upon the 
opening of the library. A reply to this interesting mes- 
sage from 'beyond seas' was approved at, and dispatched 
from, the public meeting in the skating rink. The com- 
mittee have since had the pleasure of receiving from, and 
returning to, the authorities of the Public Library in 
Worcester, Mass., further courtesies and marks of 
mutual interest and regard." 



30 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

The wording of the reply by cable is : 

Mayor, Worcester, Massachusetts. 

The old Worcester gratefully receives the greeting of 
its namesake and wishes it all prosperity. 

Mayor. 

In the same year in which the public library was 
opened in Worcester, Eng., Mr. Henry Willis, an alder- 
man in Worcester, Eng., also an ex-mayor and justice of 
peace, visited our city. He was accredited to our Mayor, 
Hon. Frank H. Kelley, by an official letter from the 
Mayor of Worcester, Eng., and was received and enter- 
tained as a guest of the city. While the friends of the 
late Samuel Foster Haven, for many years librarian of 
the American Antiquarian Society, were assembling at 
the Worcester railroad station to escort his remains to 
Mt. Auburn after the funeral on Sept. 9th, a message 
came from the Mayor to Mr. J. Evarts Greene, president 
of the Board of Directors of the Free Public Library, 
and to Mr. Samuel S. Green, librarian, announcing to 
them that Mr. Willis would arrive that evening, and ask- 
ing them to make arrangements for his entertainment in 
behalf of the city. Upon their return from Mt. Auburn 
they engaged a suite of rooms for Mr. Willis at the Bay 
State House, and later met him at the station and con- 
ducted him to his apartments. Their first act after greet- 
ing the visitor was to find out his wishes. Arrangements 
were made to carry out these during the following day. 

An admirable account of the way in which the day, 
Saturday, Sept. 10th, was spent may be found in the 
Worcester Daily Spy for Monday, Sept. 12tli, presum- 
ably written by Mr. J. Evarts Greene, the editor of that 
paper. It is as follows : 

A VISITOR FROM WORCESTER, ENGLAND. 

The city's guest, Henry Willis, Esq., an alderman of 
the old English city of Worcester, on the Severn, spent a 
busy day on Saturday in visiting some of the public insti- 




- -^.ftr 't t««c 



Worcestery England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 31 

tutions here, and in receiving the attentions paid him by 
officials and other gentlemen of the city. Mr. Willis is 
an active business man at home. He deals extensively 
in leather, is interested in the potteries, for which his 
city is famous, and is at the head of a very large glove- 
making business. He is, besides, a director of the county 
bank, a justice of the peace, an office of more dignity 
there than it is here, and one of the committee of visitors 
of the charitable institutions of Worcestershire. The 
occasional interchange of civilities between the two cities 
of late years had given him a strong desire to visit our 
Worcester, and his arrival having been announced some 
days in advance. Mayor Kelley, with commendable cour- 
tesy, had made arrangements to entertain him hospitably 
during his stay, and to afford him every possible facility 
for gratifying his curiosity in regard to whatever he 
might find here of interest. Mr. Willis's previous 
arrangements allowed him to remain here only one day, 
and, though he would have liked to visit some of our man- 
ufactories, he gave the preference to the public institu- 
tions of the city. As his time was short, his visits were 
of necessity brief and hurried, but he is a close and 
intelligent observer; his familiarity with municipal and 
other public business at home is such that he recognizes 
at once the points of likeness or difference, and his ques- 
tions are so pertinent and searching that he gets at the 
marrow of a subject very promptly. Starting early in 
the forenoon, accompanied by a gentleman to whom the 
Mayor had deputed the pleasure of escorting him, he 
drove for an hour or two about the city. He thought the 
street wide and handsome, the dwellings and private 
grounds attractive, with an air of prosperity and com- 
fort, and the whole aspect of the city and the scenery 
about it very pleasing. During the forenoon he visited 
the Worcester Free County Institute, the City Hall, 
where he inspected the several departments of the city 
government, receiving and giving much interesting 
information as regards the points of difference in the 
organization and working of our municipality and that 
of the old Worcester; the Public Library, where he was 
received by members of the city government and a few 
other gentlemen who had been asked to meet him, and a 
few minutes were spent in general conversation ; and All 



32 Worcester, England, mid Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Saints' Church, where he was greeted by the rector and 
church wardens, and was shown the fragments of stone 
from the cathedral of Worcester, presented by the dean, 
and built into the wall of the porch of All Saints' Church. 
At one o'clock a handsome lunch was served at the Bay 
State House, at which the Mayor presided, and Mr. Al- 
derman Marsh and the heads of departments at the City 
Hall were present. After lunch Mr. Willis started again, 
visiting in the afternoon the high schoolhouse, the State 
Lunatic Hospital and the City Almshouse. At half -past 
six a small party, invited by the Mayor, enjoyed an ele- 
gant dinner at the Bay State House, and the day was 
closed by another visit to the library. "This," said Mr. 
Willis, as he parted with his friends late in the evening, 
' ' has been one of the notable days of my life. You have 
worked me very hard, but I have enjoyed it all." Four 
things impressed him especially — the high school, the 
Free Institute, the Lunatic Hospital, and the Free 
Library. He expressed himself as delighted with the 
city and his reception, and cordially urged the Mayor 
and the other gentlemen he met to visit Worcester if they 
should ever cross the ocean, assuring them of a hospi- 
table reception, and of his personal endeavors to make 
their stay agreeable. 

A letter dated Dec. 5, 1881, was received from the town 
clerk of Worcester, Eng., when transmitting the vote of 
the city government of Worcester, Eng., thanking us for 
the courtesies shown to Mr. Henry Willis on his recent 
visit. The letter is as follows : 

Guildhall, Worcester, 5 December, 1881. 
J. Evarts Greene, Esq., President of the Free Public Li- 
brary, Worcester, Massachusetts, U. S. A. 
Dear Sir : I have the pleasure of sending you herewith 
an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the Coun- 
cil of this city, held on the 15th ultimo, from which you 
will see that Alderman Henry Willis has reported to the 
Council his recent visit to your city, and the kind manner 
in which he was received and entertained, and that the 
Council of this city have passed a resolution acknowl- 
edging such kindness, and expressing their thanks to the 
Directors of your Free Public Library for their kind 



'Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 33 

present of books and the good feeling entertained 
towards your city. 

I am, dear sir, 
Yours truly, 

(Signed) " Thos. Southall, 

Town Clerk. 

The letter from the Mayor containing the vote, which 
the letter of the town clerk accompanied, is as follows: 

Guildh'dl, Worcester. 
At a special and adjourned quarterly meeting of 
the Council of the City of Worcester, acting as such 
and as the urban sanitary authority for the said 
city, holden at the Gruildhall, in the said city, on 
Tuesday, the 15th day of November, 1881. 
The Mayor in the Chair. 

Present of books from Worcester, Massachusetts : 

Alderman Willis stated that he had recently visited 
the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and had been 
treated with great hospitality and kindness, and had been 
requested to present to the corporation a letter from 
the Mayor of that city and an address from the Directors 
of the Free Public Library there, and the books therein 
referred to. 

The letter and address were ordered to be entered on 
the minutes. 

It was moved by the Mayor, seconded by Alderman 
Thomas Eowley Hill, M. P., and resolved unanimously: 

That the Mayor, Aldermen and citizens of the city 
of Worcester, England, in Common Council as- 
sembled, desire to tender their best thanks to the 
Mayor and other authorities of the city of Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts, for the very kind and hospitable 
manner in which they received Alderman Henry Wil- 
lis on his recent visit to that city, and also to tender 
their thanks to them and to the Directors of the 
Free Public Library of Worcester, Massachusetts, 



34 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

for tlie very valuable books which they have en- 
trusted to Alderman Willis to present to ihis Coun- 
cil and to the Public Library of this city, and cor- 
dially reciprocate the expressions of good-will 
towards this city contained in the letter from the 
Mayor and in the address from the Directors of the 
Free Public Library of Worcester, Massachusetts, 
accompanying such gift. 

(Signed) William Stallard, 

Mayor. 

A communication was received dated April 13, 1882, 
from the Chairman of the Library Committee and Hon- 
orary Secretary of the Worcester Public Library and 
Hastings Museum in acknowledgment of greetings and a 
small gift of books from our Free Public Library. As a 
part of this communication, the resolution of the Library 
Committee was received. The letter and resolution are 
as follows : 

Worcester Public Library, 
and Hastings Museum, 

13 April, 1882. 

Gentlemen: On the other side we have the honor to 
send you a copy of a resolution passed some two or 
three months since by the Public Library Committee in 
reply to the gracious and kindly salutation which you 
were so courteous as to send to the authorities of this 
institution by our fellow citizen, Mr. Alderman Henry 
Willis. 

The transmission of this resolution has been delayed 
during the preparation of a small parcel of books of local 
interest which Alderman Willis has been good enough to 
undertake to convey to you for the use of your Library. 

On behalf of the Library Committee we have now the 
pleasure to ask your kind acceptance of the resolution 
and books with this letter as additional evidences of the 
good feeling and sjmipathy which the citizens of the old 



Worcesier, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 35 

Worcester trust may always unite them with the people 
of Worcester in the new world. 

We have the honor to be, 

Gentlemen, 

Your obedient servants, 

(Signed) Francis Dingle, 

Chairman of the Library Committee. 
Chas. M. Downes, Hon. Sec'y- 
The Directors of the Public Library, 

Worcester, Massachusetts, U. S. 

Resolution, on the other side of the letter : 

That the warmest acknowledgments of this Commit- 
tee be conveyed to the Directors of the Free Public Li- 
brary of Worcester (Massachusetts) for the gift of an 
interesting series of reports and records illustrative of 
the historj^ and present position and character of the 
sister city of Worcester in the States, and of the rapid 
growth, efficient management and beneficent influence of 
the Free Public Library of that city, and that this Com- 
mittee desire to accept these suggestive donations from 
"beyond seas" not so much for their value as an addi- 
tion to a section of their Library, which is already looked 
upon with much interest, but rather as embodying those 
sentiments of sjTnpathy, kinship and international cour- 
tesy which they rejoice to feel have always united the 
twin cities in a bond of mutual pride and emulation, and 
which they trust may continue to find increased develop- 
ment in the wider relations of the two peoples, and that 
a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Directors 
of the Free Public Library of Worcester (Massachu- 
setts) by the Chairman and Honorary Secretary. 

In a letter dated May 24, 1882, to Mr. Samuel S. Green, 
Mr. Henry Willis announces the dispatch of parcels of 
books to our Free Public Library and certain citizens of 
Worcester. The letter is as follows : 

Pitmaston, Worcester, England, May 24th, 1882. 
My dear Mr. Green : I have at last succeeded in making 
up the little parcel I promised to forward to you and my 
kind friends at Worcester, on the occasion of my visit in 
the autumn of last year. 



36 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

The box will be taken to New York by a friend, Mr. 
H. Caldicott, who is visiting the States, and he will for- 
ward it to Worcester in due course, upon his arrival 
there. 

The contents of the case are as follows : 

For the City Free Library. 

One parcel of books from the Worcester Free Li- 
brary Committee. 

Two books from the author, Mr. Alderman Noake. 

Books and pamphlets from myself. 
One parcel each for — 

The Honorable Dr. Kelley, late Mayor. 

The Honorable S. Salisbury, LL.D. 

The Honorable Ed. E. Davis. 

The Honorable Gr. F. Hoar. 

The Honorable W. W. Rice. 

The Honorable P. C. Bacon. 

Rev. Dr. Hamilton (Huntington). 

Colonel J. D. Washburne. 

Alderman Marsh. 

J. E. Greene, Esquire. 

Professor Thompson. 

Albert Marble, Esq. 

N. Paine, Esq. 

Caleb A. Wall, Esq. 

The Publisher of Business Guide. 

The Publisher of Photo News. 
And last, but certainly not least, your worthy self. 

As the larger parcel is for the Library, I have ad- 
dressed the box to you, and would respectfully ask you to 
kindly distribute the several parcels to the gentlemen to 
whom they are addressed, as a small token of my respect 
and esteem and in remembrance of my enjoyable visit to 
your city, and the very hearty reception I received at the 
hands of yourself and leading fellow citizens. 

Is there au}^ chance of your coming to England this 
season! I shall be delighted to see you, and promise you 
a genuine, hearty welcome. With all respect and kindest 
regards, 

I am, very sincerely yours, 

(Signed) Henry Willis. 

S. S. Green, Esquire. 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 37 

A letter dated Oct. 1, 1884, was received from W. B. 
Williamson, mayor of Worcester, Eng., regretting his 
inability to accept an invitation which had been extended 
to him to be present at the celebration of the 200th anni- 
versary of the naming of Worcester, Mass., which was 
to take place the 15th of that month. It is as follows : 

Guildhall, Worcester, Old England, 1st October, 1884. 

To Charles G. Eeed, Esq., 

Mayor of the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, U. S. A. 

My dear Mr. Mayor: I am in receipt of yours of the 
17tli ultimo, for which I am obliged. 

I feel very greatly honored by your kind invitation 
to visit your city, either in person or by deputy, on the 
15th instant, but as I have many engagements during 
this month, and right up to the 9th of November, when 
my term of office expires, I cannot see how it is possible 
for me to leave England. If it had not been for those 
circumstances, nothing would have given me greater 
pleasure than to have taken the next steamer for New 
York, and from thence to have gone to Worcester, to be 
with you and join in your festivities on the 15th instant. 

It is pleasing and gratifying to my fellow citizens and 
myself to know that there exist between the citizens of 
Worcester in the new country and those of Worcester 
in the old comitry such cordial feelings of respect and 
good- will. Indeed, I may say, on behalf of my fellow citi- 
zens, that they esteem, with feelings of atfectionate re- 
gard, the people over whom you have the honor to pre- 
side as Chief Magistrate. 

It must be gratifying to you to be Mayor of Worcester, 
in a year when so interesting an event is to take place as 
that of celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of the 
founding of so important a city as yours. 

I heartily reciprocate the good feeling and kindness 
which have prompted you to offer me, or a representative 
of Worcester, hospitality on that occasion. 

Several of my fellow citizens who have visited you 
during the past few years have reported your generosity 
and kindness to them whilst sojourning with you. 
Could I or a representative avail ourselves of your 



38 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

kind invitation, I feel sure that you would greet us with. 
a most hearty welcome. 

With you, Mr. Mayor, I sincerely hope that those kind 
relationships which have subsisted between the two 
cities for so many years may continue to increase and be 
strengthened by the manly ties of true friendship. 

Wishing you and your city every success and pros- 
perity in the future, with feelings of great respect, I am 
Your worship 's obedient servant, 
(Signed) W. B. Williamson, J. P. 

Mayor of Worcester, Old England. 

The following also was received from Mayor William- 
son: 

Guildhall, Worcester, 10 October, 1884. 
The Worshipful the Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Dear Mr. Mayor: I have the pleasure to inform you 
that the recent correspondence between us, with refer- 
ence to the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary 
of your city, was laid before the Council of this city at 
their meeting on the 7th instant, and that the following 
resolution was unanimously passed thereon : 

That this Council tender to the Mayor of Worcester, 
Massachusetts, their thanks for the very cordial invita- 
tion given to the Mayor of this city to be present at the 
celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the 
foundation of the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. 

This Council also desire to convey to the Mayor of 
Worcester, Massachusetts, their congratulations upon so 
interesting an occasion, and an assurance of their great 
interest in the progress and prosperity of the important 
cit}^ over which he presides, a city which so worthily rep- 
resents in another hemisphere the name borne by this 
city for more than 1200 years. 

With feelings of great respect, 

I am your worship's obedient servant, 
(Signed) W. B. Williamson, 

Mayor of Worcester, England. 

Mr. Williamson, having passed the chair while still an 
alderman of Worcester, Eng., visited Worcester not long 



Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 39 

after and was received as a guest of the city during the 
mayoralty of Hon. Francis A. Harrington. Occasionally 
other citizens of Worcester, Eng., have visited Worces- 
ter, Mass., where they have always been heartily wel- 
comed and joyfully entertained. Among these was Col. 
William Stallard, cousin of Mr. John Stallard, the pres- 
ent Mayor, and cousin and brother-in-law to Colonel 
Webb. He brought with him an interesting volume as a 
gift to the Free Public Library. 

The writer of this paper had hoped to continue the 
courtesies which had been exchanged between the two 
cities when he visited Worcester, Eng., in the summer of 
1902. Mr. Fletcher, who was at that time Mayor of Wor- 
cester, Mass., had offered to give him an introduction to 
the Mayor of Worcester, Eng., in order that he might 
convey to the government of that city expressions of the 
hearty interest of the younger city in everything that 
pertains to the life of the older municipality. He took a 
suite of rooms at a hotel in Worcester, Eng., and awaited 
the arrival of the communication which was to be sent to 
him. It miscarried, however, so that he could not, as he 
intended, present publicly our felicitations and good 
wishes for the elder city. He was, however, royally 
entertained by Mr. S. T. Button (Mr. Willis and Mr. Wil- 
liamson having died), who conducted him and his party 
about the city and took them to his beautiful house in the 
suburbs for luncheon. Mr. Button remembered with 
pleasure a visit which he had recently made to Worces- 
ter, Mass., where he was entertained by the writer. 

I should not fail before ending this paper to state that 
Berrow's Worcester Journal, one of the principal news- 
papers of Worcester, Eng., has been sent regularly to the 
Free Public Library since 1875, the gift of Mr. Charles 
H. Birbeck. The volumes of this paper have been bound 
and placed upon the shelves of the Reference Bepart- 
ment. 

It should also be mentioned that Mr. Williamson, after 



40 Worcester, England, and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

his return home, sent us two beautiful albums of photo- 
graphs of members of the Corporation of Worcester, 
Eng., Jubilee Year, 1887, and two large framed photo- 
graphs, one being a collection of smaller pictures of the 
members of the corporation in the same 3^ear, and the 
other a full-length photograph of Mr. "Williamson in his 
official robe. 



^ ?? ?^ 



^<^' 



vT. ° ' A ^ 







■'V- ''^> ^"^ •• - ^ 



,-^^ . 






^^ 



.0^ 



,-Jy^\'''"° 



^^-n^ 



,40, 



•"' >^ ^^ "^ .<&^ 



o_ ■-.''■^v^: 






^^ . < • o 






A\])%' -^^ 











^ v^lp^*' ^ '^ 






^\ 












■0^ 



^oV 






■* 



-•■ 'n; o ■?"„ ,.'0' ♦ >^ »- > 






0^. 



.<&' 



.> 






.^■ 



<*, 






,V' ^. 






■^ c ° " " -» <^ 



-^-^0^ 






♦1 O 






^^ .., ^-^ '"* 



^ -.^^Ul/-^^ ^"^ o ^'*-^\^/ 







<-^ ^p °f//tfC\\V^ .Vw -^ 






^ ^0 . ' * 




"To 'o^.T* 'V <^ -TXT* ,G^ %3 



4"^ 






"-^ 
^«^( 






v. 













